A Cosmic Shift

As I sit here pondering Holy Week and the culmination of Lent, as usual I am worn out by this disciple of death we have been under, yet I am also filled with hope as I know, "it's Friday, but Sunday's Coming!" Also, while sitting in my office pondering this, I realize that this time next year I won't be sitting here as I write words about Easter! This is the last Lent, Holy Week, and Easter when the St. Patrick Community will gather in this place. I am not at all sentimental about this. To have a place to worship at all is God's grace, but I assure you that I will not miss this place (and the one men's bathroom it has). However, I do hope that the years we have spent here will mark each of us, and as we move into a new building and worship in a place that, as I look at it now, will feel nothing less than “grand," I pray that we will always have a deep sense of gratitude and humility. (Standing in the sanctuary area of our new building yesterday, where we will celebrate Easter next year, was overwhelming. Two things historically marked sacred places of worship - light and space. Our area of worship has both, in spades - the twelve foot gothic windows are huge, the walls are twenty feet tall, and from floor to vaulted ceiling is thirty two feet! WE WILL TOUR IT NEXT SUNDAY, THE 12TH, AFTER WORSHIP).

Alas, I stray. Easter Sunday represents nothing less than "A Cosmic Shift" in the way people viewed reality. It really did. Reality, until the resurrection of Jesus, appeared one way, and after a dead man got up out of the grave, it had to be recalculated. All religions looked mostly the same until the resurrection, and suddenly Christianity stood out in bold relief against all other religions in the world. And even to this day it still does.
In a span of 40 days, a few people witnessed something so earth shattering, reality bending, paradigm shaking, and life altering that Christianity could never be just another run of the mill religion, but once encountered, it had to be your life! Interested? Join us this Sunday. Oh, and let me mention one thing about Sunday. If you are a regular here, please consider parking across Harris St. in the small lot located there. The last few Sundays we have run out of parking spaces (Yeah, what a great problem, I hope it get's worse!!). So, let's serve our guests and "make room for them.'
Blessings,
James M. Holland